New problem-reporting tool

Simplified meeting join for mobile users

The Skype for Business meeting invitation has been updated to combine the telephone numbers with conference IDs (access codes). Instead of having to click the phone number and then enter the conference ID as a separate step, mobile users just tap the phone number to join.

Previous releases

If you can't see your Skype for Business Contacts folder in Outlook or Outlook Web App, your organization might have changed the policy settings to hide it. If you use the latest Office 365 Outlook Web App, you can see Skype for Business contacts directly from the Skype for Business 2016 chat sidebar.

Similarly, if you use the mobile or desktop client, you can use the Skype for Business 2016 client to view the Skype for Business contacts.

A new Consult button has been added to the Skype for Business user interface to improve how calls are transferred. The Consultative Transfer feature makes it easier to confer with someone before transferring a call to them.

The Skype for Business UI is getting a visual facelift. Updates include improved keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, color changes and icons that provide greater text-to-background contrast, and other visual enhancements designed to help make the experience more accessible for all users.

Don't wait until someone is online before sending them a message in Skype for Business. You'll no longer receive those "this message can't be delivered" notifications when you send a message to someone who is offline.

Various engineering investments resulted in a smaller, more nimble Skype for Business 16 client. Not only does it take less space but also requires less memory than version 15, resulting in quicker performance for all users.

Co-author in a Skype for Business meeting

If you're writing a document or creating a spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation and need to collaborate with others, you can use Office 365 and Skype for Business to co-author and edit while in a meeting or instant message (IM) conversation. Everyone who participates in the co-authoring session sees changes being made to the document in real time.

The first time you use Skype for Business, you'll see that your contacts list already includes your manager and the people on your team, and all are tagged for status updates. That's because Skype for Business checks your company's global address book and picks out those people who share your same manager. Of course, you can make changes to this list by adding and removing contacts, creating groups, and sorting contacts into groups that make sense to you.

Contextual tips are helpful suggestions that encourage you to try Skype for Business features that you might not have used before. The tips are relevant to the task at hand. For example, when searching for a contact, you might see a tip like this:

Click the X at the top of the tip to dismiss it. Once dismissed, the tip will not display again.

This feature is only available in Skype for Business 16.

Peer-to-peer video-based screen sharing

You and your colleagues will enjoy an improved screen-sharing experience thanks to the video-based screen-sharing (VbSS) technology in Skype for Business. While you won't see any changes in the way you present on-screen content during your peer-to-peer calls or chats, you will notice that the connection time is drastically reduced, and the screen presentation is always in sync between presenter and viewer.

You probably already know that you can add individual contacts to your contact list, but if your organization uses Office 365 Groups, you can now add those to your list, too. The process is the same, just search for the Group name, right-click the name when you see it in the list, and click Add to contacts list.

The Lync experience is only supported in version 15. In version 16, all users will have the Skype for Business experience only.

Remote Call Control was a feature in previous versions of Lync and Skype for Business, which enabled users to control their private branch exchange (PBX) phones with their Lync and Skype for Business clients.

Note: Microsoft is working with select partners to ensure their IP Phones and other products work seamlessly to provide enterprise grade communications solutions for our customers. See the Skype for Business Solutions web site to learn more about this partnership.

Skype for Business on Mac

Updates are available from Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU). To use MAU, start Skype for Business on Mac, and then choose Help > Check for Updates. If you have not yet installed Skype for Business on Mac, you can do so from the Microsoft Download Center.

January 2018 release

Release date: January 31, 2018

Version: 16.14.163

Tabbed window experience for chats

All users now have the option to see chats in a single, tabbed window even if your organization has disabled automatic archiving of IM messages and server-side conversation history.

Choose the size to view shared content

Choose the size that someone's shared screen is displayed in your meeting or call by selecting Fit Content to Window or View Content Actual Size from More Options (…).

Accept chats even when you're away from your computer

When your organization has enabled server-side conversation history, Skype for Business on Mac will automatically accept IM conversations no matter how long you have been away from your computer so that you can see the messages when you return.

Offline indicator on the Dock icon

Skype for Business on Mac will display a warning indicator on the app icon in the Dock when the app is signed out or not able to reach the Skype for Business server so users can easily tell when they are offline.

Join meetings faster and more reliably

When you click Join, connect to your meetings significantly faster and with fewer failures.

Improvements

When scheduling an online meeting in Outlook, use the defaults defined by your organization's policy for who gets directly into the meeting without waiting in the lobby and for who is a presenter. This requires Outlook version 16.9.116 or later.

Fixed an issue that could reconnect a call after a network drop without showing that you were back in the call.

Fixed an issue that showed an error saying a chat message was not delivered when it actually was.

Fixed an issue that caused black screen when viewing screen sharing in a meeting.

Fixed an issue that prevented showing notifications for new messages when switching away from the Chats tab.

Fixed an issue that prevented the app from automatically signing in after the computer was restarted.

Skype for Business Server 2015, January 2018 update

Customers using Skype for Business Server 2015 can enable functionality for Mac users by installing the January 2018 cumulative update. Microsoft recommends that you install this update only if you need these features or experience any of the issues described in the "Improvements and fixes" list for the release. When the update is installed, users of Skype for Business on Mac will see the following improvements:

Support for location-based routing of phone calls

Your administrator can control how calls to or from people outside of your organization are handled based on the location of the parties in the call.

Display IM disclaimers

Skype for Business on Mac will display a disclaimer message at the beginning of every IM conversation if your organization specifies them.

Skype for Business Server 2015, December 2017 update

Customers that use Skype for Business Server 2015 can enable functionality for Mac users by installing the December 2017 cumulative update. When the update is installed, users of Skype for Business on Mac will see the following improvements:

Support for E-911 calls

When known, the location of a 911 caller will be sent to the emergency service provider. For West Safety Services customers, this might also require installing Emergency Gateway Version 5.4.

Send files in peer-to-peer chats

Users can send and receive files while in a chat session by clicking the paper clip in the chat message input box. They can also drag files directly from the Finder to the chat message input box.

Other improvements

Fixed an issue to block users from signing in from outside of their organization's network when disallowed by policy.

Fixed an issue that prevented users from getting their meeting list when a mobility policy is disabled.

December 2017 release

Release date: ﻿December 7, 2017

Version: 16.13.184

Status from your Outlook calendar

Skype for Business on Mac will automatically update your status to indicate when you are in a meeting or busy based on your Outlook calendar. You can turn this off by clearing Update my status based on my calendar information in General page of Preferences dialog box.

Manage people in your meetings and calls

When in a meeting or call, you can easily mute someone's microphone, make them a presenter or attendee, or remove them from the meeting. In the People list, select the user and then select the More Options (…) button.

Know when you are offline

You'll see a notification at the top of the window when you aren't connected to the Skype for Business server, and the buttons to start conversations and join meetings will be disabled.

See your missed IM messages

When you miss an IM conversation, you can see the message text in the chat window even if your organization has disabled automatic archiving of IM messages.

Automatically close the window when you hang up a call

Skype for Business on Mac will automatically close the call window when you hang up a person-to-person phone call as long as no one has sent IMs in the conversation.

Monitor the quality of your audio and video calls

If you are on macOS Sierra or later, your admin can monitor the Quality of Service (QoS) of your audio and video calls to keep your service running smoothly.

Improvements

Fixed an issue that prevented a user from seeing a security desk notification when they dial 911.

Improved the performance of opening chat conversations.

Changed the position of notifications so they do not cover action buttons when you leave a call or meeting.

Improved the performance of displaying the Devices window.

Improved the visibility of Next Slide and Previous Slide buttons when sharing a PowerPoint file in a meeting.

Fixed issues around sending IMs when a presenter enables or disables all IM in a meeting.

Fixed an issue with how HTTP proxy passwords were stored.

Fixed an issue that caused users with an Alternate ID to be prompted to sign in multiple times.

Previous releases

Users can select the Devices button while in a meeting or call to select audio and video devices.

Choose meeting audio options by pressing Join from Calendar tab

When users select a meeting on the Meetings tab, they can press the Join button to see the Join Meeting Audio dialog box to choose how to join audio. The option to have a meeting call to a phone number is now only available from the Join Meeting Audio dialog box.

Maximized screen sharing

Users will now see screen sharing fill the meeting or conversation window so it is easier to see what is being shared.

Stop screen sharing when you hang up

The app will automatically stop sharing the screen when a user hangs up to make sure others can't see the user's screen after they leave a meeting or call.

Invite users to a meeting through email

The user can easily send an email to someone with information on how to join a meeting by clicking Invite by Email in the Meeting Information dialog box.

Improvements

Fixed an issue where the “This call is on hold” message continued to be displayed after switching audio from the computer to a phone.

Added a check to prevent users from trying to send IMs when they are not signed in.

Fixed an issue that caused phone numbers to be formatted incorrectly when shown in Outlook calendar items.

Fixed an issue where a network connection error remains displayed after the network connection is restored.

Fixed an issue that prevented redialing calls from the Calls tab.

Fixed an issue that prevented display of the current speaker video when someone was sharing a screen in a meeting.

Removed the requirement that a user be enabled for Enterprise Voice in order to see the Join Meeting Audio dialog box.

Add ability for an administrator to customize the sign-in UI to show the User Name field in the sign-in dialog box as well as in Advanced Options. Click here for help with customization.

Users can choose to join meetings without joining audio. Users can choose the option for one meeting by selecting Don't join audio in the Join Meeting Audio dialog box or set the default for all meetings in the Calls page of Preferences. The Join Meeting Audio dialog box is displayed when you join a meeting from your calendar or by double-clicking an item on the Meetings tab.

Simplified sign in

Signing into Skype for Business on Mac is now easier and only asks for information that is needed. The user starts by entering their email address, and Skype for Business determines what additional information is required by your organization. The user name field has been moved to the Advanced Options dialog box. Entering a user name is not necessary for most users, but might be required by some organizations.

Sign in with client certificate-based authentication

Users can now sign into Skype for Business on Mac using client certificate-based authentication when required by their organization.

Hide and show meeting content

Users can choose to hide or show content that another user is sharing in a meeting. When someone is sharing their screen, select Hide Meeting Content from the More Options (…) menu. If content is available but not displayed (because it was hidden or due to an error), select Show Meeting Content from the More Options (…) menu.

Join meetings from organizations that are not federated with your organization

Users can now join meetings that are hosted by another organization even when external connectivity (federation) has not been established between the two organizations. To join these meetings, start from the meetings list on the Meetings tab. Joining these meetings from Outlook is not yet supported.

Support for macOS High Sierra

Upgrade your macOS with confidence knowing that Skype for Business on Mac fully supports High Sierra.

Improvements

Fixed an issue where a user's location used for E-911 calls is not correctly identified when the user is connected to a network inside their organization.

Fixed an issue where a user's status continued to show as Available after they had quit the app.

Fixed an issue that prevented users from signing in with an Alternate ID.

Fixed several issues to improve the reliability of viewing screen sharing in a meeting.

Users who are Presenters in a meeting can now end the meeting from Skype for Business on Mac by selecting More Options (...) and then End Meeting. When a meeting is ended, all users in the meeting are disconnected.

Note: Skype for Business Online users only.﻿

Display Join Meeting Audio dialog box for every meeting

Users will now see the Join Meeting Audio dialog box when joining a meeting from the Meetings tab in addition to when they join a meeting from outside of Skype for Business on Mac.

Help for adding delegates

A new help link in the Calls page of Preferences dialog box will make it easier for users to access documentation describing how to add delegates in Skype for Business.

Improvements

Fixed an issue where the app doesn't automatically select a connected audio headset when making a call or joining a meeting.

Fixed an issue where incorrect dial-in phone numbers for some regions were displayed for online meetings in Outlook. This requires Outlook for Mac 15.37.170815 or later.

Fixed an issue where the Take over as Presenter button is not disabled when the user is demoted from Presenter to Attendee in a meeting.

Fixed an issue where users see an incorrect error message when a presenter ends a meeting.

Fixed an issue where users might see a black or gray screen when someone shares a screen in a meeting.

Skype for Business on Mac now supports multiple emergency numbers when configured by your admin.

Delegates can schedule meetings on behalf of delegators

Outlook for Mac will now allow a delegate to schedule an online meeting on behalf of a delegator. This new feature has a limitation that the online meeting is created using meeting ID and policies of the delegate, not the delegator. This limitation will be removed in future versions of Skype for Business on Mac and Outlook for Mac.

Note: You must install the Outlook update version 15.36.170702 or later to enable this feature.

Users can now search for contacts with whom they previously haven't talked to directly from the Chats tab.

Users can see who have added them to their contacts list in Skype for Business from the New Contacts list in the Contacts tab.

Enterprise Voice users can choose to have audio go to their phone when they join a meeting by selecting Join by Phone from the Meetings tab.

Added a More Options (...) button in meetings.

Selecting the More Options button displays a menu with various commands depending on the meeting, including:

Enterprise Voice users can switch audio to their phone after joining a meeting by selecting Join by Phone.

Users can share a PowerPoint presentation while in a meeting by selecting Share PowerPoint File.

Users can see information about a meeting (such as the organizer’s name, meeting link, conference ID and call-in phone numbers) by selecting Show Meeting Info.

Users can resume a held call by selecting Resume Call.

Users can now join meetings from another organization that is not federated with your organization directly from Skype_for_Business-on_Mac, rather than having to join in their browser. Simply select Join on the Meetings tab like you would for any online meeting.

Users can now join a Microsoft Teams meeting directly from the Meetings tab in Skype for Business by selecting the meeting and pressing Join.

When sharing their screen in a meeting, Skype for Business Online users will use video-based screen sharing with higher frame-rates and better quality.

Note: Skype for Business Online users only.

On-premises users can now schedule Skype for Business meetings in Outlook with their dedicated meeting space (which uses the same meeting ID for each meeting).

Meeting scheduling in Outlook will now use a pre-assigned meeting for on-premises users, if available.

Note: Supported on Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business 2013 only.

Added Touch Bar support for various functionality on the contact card (such as IM, phone, video, email, and schedule a meeting) and in meetings (meetings controls such as video, microphone, and share).

Note: Supported for Skype for Business Server 6.0.9319.281 on-premises.

Losing connection during meetings only will now automatically reconnect if dropped due to network problems once sufficient network quality has been re-established.

Fixed a known issue with bidirectional file transfer for Skype for Business Online users.

Note: Supported for Skype for Business Online users with Skype for Business Server 2015 Update version 1617.5.

Fixed a memory issue with the 4th Generation MacBook Pro where the app would leak excessive amounts of memory after a video call or video-based screen sharing.

Fixed an issue where the notification center would be filled with alerts about network problems.

Fixed an issue where 00 was always normalized to + regardless of the user's region.

Fixed an issue where the letters of vanity phone numbers wouldn't correctly translate to digits causing calls to fail.

Fixed an issue with double dial-tone sounds while dialing a PSTN number.

Fixed an issue that prompted users to update the meeting due to policy changes when scheduling public meetings.

Fixed an issue where multiple participants sharing their desktop or program in a meeting were seeing a black screen.

Fixed mute and unmute issues on peer-to-peer calls.

Fixed various issues with sign-in, screen sharing issues, and crashes.

Known issues

New issues

Issue

Comment

Contact Management, including Delegate Management, is not supported if Unified Contact Store is enabled

Users cannot modify their contacts list in Skype for Business if a user account is enabled by the Skype for Business administrator for the Unified Contact Store for Exchange. Users can make changes to their contacts list in Outlook.

Peer-to-peer file transfer is enabled for Skype for Business Online. Users can now send and receive files while in a chat session by clicking the paper clip in the chat message input box. They can also drag files directly from the Finder to the chat message input box.

Improvements

When a user receives an incoming call, the video preview and the video button for answering the call show up on the incoming ring panel.

A Skype for Business user who receives a call from a Delegate on behalf of a Delegator will now see the call is made on behalf of the Delegator.

When a user saves the ring device settings, the selection is saved after the application restarts.

Names in the Contacts list are sorted alphabetically by first name.

Users are informed they have been rejected from joining a meeting when they try to join multiple times.

Fixed the error message that is shown when a user tries to create a contact group that already exists.

Users can now share their desktops during peer-to-peer IM conversations.

Note: Peer-to-peer desktop sharing from Skype for Business 2016 on Windows client for on-premises Skype for Business Server 2015 users requires February Updates for Skype for Business Server 2015. Peer-to-peer desktop sharing from Skype for Business 2016 on Windows client for on-premises Lync Server 2013 users is not supported.

Certified support is now available for the following USB devices:

Polycom CX300

Jabra Speak 510

Jabra Evolve 65

Plantronics Blackwire C520-M

Logitech Webcam C930e

Improvements

Duplicated contacts and contact’s email are shown at same time when users search a contact. Now users will only see one contact by using the workaround of deleting the sign-in info:

Fixed an issue for organizations that use a custom channel for the ChannelName preference in Microsoft AutoUpdate.

Release date: December 12, 2016

Features added

Video-based screen sharing (VBSS) viewing is available for Office 365. VBSS is technology that allows for a more efficient way of sharing content over the network as compared to RDP. Learn more.

Single window mode for Lync Server 2013 users. Skype for Business on Mac already offers a great experience to manage multiple conversations in a single window. Now that experience is extended to Mac clients that connect to Lync Server 2013, which was not supported prior to 16.2. In addition, if server-side conversation history was previously disabled, single window was not available either. This is now addressed unless your organization has disabled EnableAutoIMArchive explicitly. Also, messages can be auto-accepted if the Mac client is active, and IMs can be shown as missed messages.

Single window:

Will not depend on SSCH. It will only depend on EnableIMAutoArchiving.

On when EnableIMAutoArchiving is enabled or not set.

Off when EnableIMAutoArchiving is disabled.

Auto-accept:

Skype for Business on Mac will always auto accept IM if it is most active endpoint.

If SSCH is enabled, it will be accepted by the server. The conversation will persist in Exchange and display in the conversation list.

If SSCH is disabled or not set (for example, in Lync Server 2013), the client will accept IM and display in the conversation window, but will not save it to the "Conversation History" folder in Exchange.

If EnableIMAutoArchiving is enabled or not set:

Skype for Business on Mac will show the conversation locally and it will not roam.

When user closes the conversation window or restarts the client, the conversation will reappear in the conversation list.

If user does a clean installation of Skype for Business on Mac or logs on from another computer, there will be no history of previous conversation.

If EnableIMAutoArchiving is disabled:

When user closes the conversation window or restarts the client, the conversation will not be persisted or show up in the conversation list.

In audio calls, you can now add desktop sharing.

Note: Single window mode is already available for Office 365 and Skype for Business Server 2015 2015 users. However, if EnableIMAutoArchiving policy has been disabled by the admin, single window mode will not be available.

Improvements

Changed the default notification type to banners. Users can change their settings on the Notification Center (Skype for Business > Preferences > Notifications).

User experience during meetings and calls.

Group management

Client stability and other bug fixes.

Known issues

New issues

Issue

Comment

Search contacts limitation

There is a known limitation with Mac search where it will not show federated contacts and Skype consumer contacts; it can only show contacts in the local Active Directory.

Desktop viewing in Skype for Business on Windows client

While in a call, desktop viewing is currently not supported from Skype for Business 2016 on Windows on-premises users.

Workaround: Users can join a conference call or using "Meet Now."

Note: Skype for Business on Mac client is compatible with Office 365, Skype for Business Server 2015, and Lync Server 2013. Customers using Lync Server 2010 should continue to use Lync for Mac 2011 as their Mac client.

Skype for Business Online and Skype for Business Server 2015 users can now add and remove contact groups and enterprise distribution groups to their contact list.

Tag contacts for status change alerts

Skype for Business Online, Skype for Business Server 2015, and Lync Server 2013 users can tag a contact so that they are alerted any time the status of the contact changes to online.

Improvements

Messaging

Improved sender experience in the case when a recipient is unable to respond to incoming messages.

Fixed chat notification issues — in some cases, new chat notifications were not marked because the client assumed the user read them already.

Meetings

Numerous fixes and reliability improvements so you get a more stable meeting experience.

General

Calendar syncing issues fixed so at start up meetings can be retrieved correctly.

Sign-in bug fixes — some account types were not able to sign in.

Known issues

New issues

Issue

Comment

Single/tabbed window experience not available

By default, if your topology meets the following requirements, all conversations will be shown in a single/tabbed window. However, there are cases when the client can’t detect if server-side conversation history is enabled and it will not default to single window view. This can be remedied by updating settings under Preferences.

Requirements for single/tabbed window experience:

Skype for Business Online or Skype for Business Server 2015

Server-side conversation history enabled.

Troubleshooting if single window mode is not available, check the following:

Preferences > General > Show conversation in separate windows is unchecked.

E-911 with ADFS not supported

This is a known issue and will be addressed in a future update of Skype for Business Server 2015.

Menu to add/rename/delete contact group are disabled right after adding a new group

Workaround: Select any contact or group, and the menu will be re-enabled.

Expand/Collapse Group Chevron icon is out of sync with the list of contacts after minimize/maximize Skype for Business

Workaround: Click on the chevron to correct the icon.

Adding a distribution group that has more than 100 contacts will result to 100 contacts only

Workaround: To view the full member list of distribution group, use Outlook to expand the group.